Despite the much-touted anti-corruption campaign of government, 71 percent of Filipinos believe President Arroyo is enriching herself through corrupt practices, a survey of the Social Weather Stations showed.

Twenty-four percent said they do not think Arroyo was corrupt while 5 percent had no opinion, the survey conducted from July 18-20 with about 600 respondents from the Mega Manila area (National Capital Region and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and Laguna) also showed.

The survey, commissioned y the United Opposition, asked the respondents on their belief in the "involvement" of officials in corrupt practices.

Malacañang dismissed the survey results. Chief presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol said these were expected.

"Hindi totoo iyan. Wala namang corruption nangyari sa gobyerno na naging kontrobersyal. Hindi kami naniniwala diyan. Sino ba ang nag-komisyon ? UNO? Kaya ganyan ang resulta. Negative talaga at hindi kapani-paniwala," Apostol said.

The poll was part of the UNO’s continuing program to gauge public opinion. Last week, UNO also released results of the same survey which showed that former President Joseph Estrada continues to be a public figure trusted by the people.

Estrada got a trust rating of 64 percent and Mrs. Arroyo, 18 percent.

Of those who linked Arroyo to corrupt activities, 73 percent came from the socio-economic class ABC, the "upper and middle class" which forms the President’s base of support, 69 percent from Class D and 73 percent from Class E.

Presidential spouse Jose Miguel Arroyo fared worse as 77 percent of the respondents said they believed he was involved in corrupt practices while only 19 percent believed otherwise. Four percent said they had no opinion.

Mr. Arroyo has been linked to numerous scandals including the controversial "Jose Pidal" account and the "jueteng" payola issue.

Estrada got better results on the corruption perception category despite the plunder and perjury charges the Arroyo government filed against him for allegedly receiving kickbacks from excise tobacco taxes. The Sandiganbayan is expected to issue a verdict before Sept. 15.

According to the survey, 66 percent of those polled do not believe Estrada enriched himself through corrupt practices while he was president.

Thirty one percent believed he was corrupt while 3 percent had no opinion.

Of those who said Estrada was not corrupt, 65 percent came from the National Capital Region while 68 percent came from the four provinces.

The respondents were also asked about their opinion on the person’s "degree of corruption.

"Seventy-eight 78 percent said they consider the President "very" or "somewhat corrupt" while 18 percent said she was "probably" or definitely not" corrupt.

On Mr. Arroyo, 81 percent rated him "very" or "somewhat corrupt" with only 13 percent saying he was either "probably" or definitely not corrupt.

"A bulk of the respondents, or 76 percent, in the upper and middle classes agreed that corruption increased under the Arroyo administration, 71 percent in Class D and 73 percent in Class E.

Eleven percent of the classes ABC disagreed with the statement while a similar number were undecided.

United Opposition (UNO) and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said the survey results only show that despite the cases Estrada is facing and the administration’s efforts to link him to "destabilization" attempts, the people trust the former president.

He added that even Mrs. Arroyo’s traditional base of support, the upper and middle classes, have the same sentiment as that of the masses in the corruption perception category.

Binay said no amount of propaganda and "praise releases" by the Arroyo administration would erase the string of scandals such as the P728 million fertilizer scam, the "Hello Garci" recordings, the NAIA Terminal 3 contract, the multi-billion peso botched computerization project of the Commission on Election, and the $329-million broadband controversy entered into by the Department of Transportation and Communication with a Chinese firm.

Apostol said it was a pity that Mr. Arroyo continues to be dragged into the corruption issue when he has not been involved in any government transaction.

"Hindi naman siya nakikialam, wala rin naman siyang kinasangkutan na anomalya ngayon. Walang transaksyon," he said.

Apostol asked why Estrada got a 31 percent rating on perceived corrupt practices. He said Estrada should have gotten a lower rating because he been in detention for the past six years.

Cabinet secretary Ricardo Saludo said "the survey question speaks volumes about the one-track platform of the government."  

SOURCE: Malaya by Ashzel Hachero  With Jocelyn Montemayor